COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Ingredients and techniques from two different areas come together to produce the beer in this bottle. Van Twee (From Two) is the remarkable result of a collaboration between two breweries know for extreme innovation: Bell’s Brewery of Kalamazoo, MI and De Proef Brouwerij of Lochristi, Belgium. Special emphasis was placed on using ingredients from both Belgium and Michigan in designing this beer. Michigan is renowned for producing sour, dark cherries of superior quality, and a significant quantity of cherry juice was added to the brew. Deep hued Belgian candi sugar adds to the complex flavor of the beer. The sugar used for bottle conditioning came from native Michigan sugar beets. A finishing fermentation with vinous Brettanomyces strain of yeast complements the unique New Zealand hop variety, Nelson Sauvin. The result is broadly a cherry infused ’mash-up’ of the porter and dubbel styles, brewed to an original gravity of 1.072 and fermented with multiple strains of yeast. Each ingredient used brings a subtle hint of a varied fruit such as plum/prune from the roasted malts; gooseberry/grape from the hops; pear/banana from the yeast and specialty sugar; and of course cherry. These flavors are wrapped in a rich and complex roasted malt base that imparts flavors reminiscent of chocolate and coffee--much like the famous filled chocolates of Belgium. We hope you enjoy drinking this beer as much as we enjoyed making it for you.

Pours a solid opaque dark brown with a large light brown head. Aroma is exactly of what promised: Sour cherries and brettanomyces. Chocolatey malts too. Very complex aroma with coffee lurking behind. Again the label is accurate: Very nutty, roasted, porterish body with light sourness and fruit in the forefront. Chocolate and smoky leather flavors are also present. Full mouthfeel, good carbo. They really took a risk on this one in my opinion and it works out pretty nicely to the taster with an open mind. I mean, normally one would expect the porter and sour flavors to conflict, but I think the overall craftsmanship here holds everything together. The quality, I mean. Odd, but quite nice. Overall, excellent minus.

Bottle. Pours deep dark murky brown with a long-lasting off white head. Nose is tootsie roll, coke, light musty cherrry and just a faint hint of funk. Flavor starts out with a nice musty cherry with a touch of sour funk and then has nice componenets of toffee, figs, and even some red licorice. FInish is the only place aI thought this beer fell apart - the sweetness factor kicks in and it leaves with a fairly sticky mouthfeel (wife said ’cough syrup’ for the finish, though I didn’t find it that pronounced or cloying). All in all - I thought this was a really nice beer, though from swallow to swallow, it didn’t always ’fit’. Will buy again, definitely.

This dark brown ale poured with a dense tan head and a toffee aroma. This is a malty brew that has lots of Belgian candi sugar and some delicious sour cherry notes. Everything goes well together - a successful collaboration. The flavor improves noticeably after a few sips. I really like this one.

Bottle courtesy of bu11zeye. Brown pour that has reddish tints on the hue. Dark malts with a hint of tartness. Taste is high in tartness with some acidic fruit. Finishes with a bit of dark chocolate and dark malts.

Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Pours with a huge tan head and a deep brown body. Aroma has a little funk, cherry, horse blanket, chocolate and nutshells. Taste is thin with chocolate, cherry, metallic notes and brett. Dry mouthfeel, medium to high carbonation.

A whole lot going on here that doesn’t meld right. I love brett, love Nelson Sauvin, and like Bells, but this doesn’t work too well.

Shared 750ml. bottle among grateful friends, donated by a distributor friend. A large sample was poured for me to a Czech-pils glass showing a very dark brown hue with ruby tones peeking through, a frothy, off white to light tan head, and ultra-clingy, web-like lacing. The aroma was immediately barnyard and leather, roasty malt, with some chocolate and sweet dark cherry notes. The cherry washed out a little in the flavor, roasted malt and a baker’s variety chocolate continued, along with light tartness and vinous qualities. The carbonation was lively, but not too overbearing, as the beer finished fairly dry. Nice complexity and altogether enjoyable.

Bottle from Red Carpet. This is as unique as it is well done. Nose of dark cherry, roast, toffee, dark malt and Belgian dark fruit. Color is a dark garnet with fat head. Flavor is a GREAT sour cherry melded perfectly with a nice mellow dubbel MELDED PERFECTLY with a great toffee roasty US Porter. The effect is a nice balanced sweet Belgian dark and a cherry-chocolate porter. I am really impressed by the balance. Works well with the fruit on the level of Cherry Adam. I hope this doesn’t get more sour with age but it’s probably inevitable.

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